Introduction and Problem Definition
Custom Molds, Inc. was founded by a father and son team in 1987 to provide high quality, custom-designed molds for manufacturers of electronic connectors, but later expanded into the production of plastic parts for the industry. In recent years, the changing environment of the electronics industry had a profound impact on the way Custom Molds conducts its business and manufacturing processes. The changing sales mix, coupled with delivery and quality problems, prompted the company to revise its business strategies to address to following issues:
1) Changing trends in the electronics manufacturing industry that caused changes in clients' order needs
2) Unpredictable bottlenecks in the production environment
3) Quality issues resulting in defective parts
4) Delivery times promised to clients were not met
Analysis
1) Process Inefficiencies
Some of the issues presented above resulted from inefficiencies in the two distinct processes taking place in the same production facility at Custom Molds, namely the Molds Fabrication process and the Parts Production process (Exhibit 1a and b). The two processes serve different customer needs. Mold fabrication, a skill oriented and craftsman-driven process, requires flexibility and quality. Parts manufacturing, on the other hand, involves a more standardized process that competes on delivery and low cost. The margin for parts is also much smaller.
In the mold fabrication process, the time needed to receive the ordered materials for each fabrication is usually 3-4 weeks. Only after the materials are received does the plant master scheduler review the workload of the assigned master machinist and schedule the mold for fabrication. The idle time...
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...any's strategic business objectives
Due to the changing market trends, Custom Molds should conduct a comprehensive review of its business objectives and decide whether to focus on the fabrication of molds or the production of parts. It is obvious that the fabrication business is becoming less viable in terms of the reflecting the electronics industry's manufacturing needs. Couple that with the high cost of operation in the mold fabrication area, the return on investment from that business segment may not attractive enough for the company to continue supporting the operation. By focusing its production efforts on parts production, the company can better manage its resources to ensure timely delivery of quality parts and also develop better relationships with their clients.
...s by producing more pieces. Manufacturing factories charge less money per hour if they are producing more pieces.
The all-encompassing costs related to the item as a whole include: production, transportation, storage (warehouse costs, heating, cooling, manning), management, and potential disposal. With all of these variables in mind it is very difficult to break down costs on a per-unit level, but is the only quantifiable method of demonstrating the technology's fiscal superiority. When assessing the viability and cost effectiveness of 3D printing supported supply chains, many of these high total-ownership costs can be reduced. 3D printing presents the potential of local manufacturing that will reduce lead-times and transportation costs. Efforts to promote standardization of subparts can be avoided because objects can be digitally altered before printing, to meet individual product line and consumer specifications, at minimal cost to the producer.
The consumer demand for electronics grew, leading the demand curve to shift right as shown in Figure 1. Therefore, there is an increase in total revenue(P•Q=TR) of 1% to $8.53 billion as well as abnormal profit from area a to area a+b(a x 1.12), 12% rise in earnings. Best
During the 1990s, each company experienced specific difficulties to their market share. Both companies struggled to reestablish themselves in the global consumer electronics world. As the year 2000 came around, new CEOs at both companies came up with even more complicated initiatives and reorganizations. Outsiders wondered how each company’s internal changes would affect their endless competitive battle in the industry.
The company is using a batch shop process flow structure. CBF, Inc. bases its board fabrication process on the average job size or on its typical order. This means that the company proceeds with the manufacturing process in batches so as to meet the specific requirements per order. The typical contract that the company currently gets is 60 boards per order. However, due to persisting factory defects, they manufacture a total of 75 boards per batch in order to compensate for 20% of the boards that they typically reject during the process.
We are using October 2006 as the base for our forecasted sales due to the many changes that have occurred in the last year. Several product lines have been ...
Injection moulding is the most widely used polymeric fabrication process. It evolved from metal die casting, however, unlike molten metals, polymer melts have a high viscosity and cannot simply be poured into a mould. Instead a large force must be used to inject the polymer into the hollow mould cavity. More melt must also be packed into the mould during solidification to avoid shrinkage in the mould. The injection moulding process is primarily a sequential operation that results in the transformation of plastic pellets into a moulded part. Identical parts are produced through a cyclic process involving the melting of a pellet or powder resin followed by the injection of the polymer melt into the hollow
Growth potential and opportunity: With the entire inductry being projected to grow over the next few years and reach a 522.01 billion dollar value globally, the after market accessories market in the United States is growing
Focus shall be on utilizing pre-production tools while developing the prototypes. Actual material, wherever possible, shall be used in the development of prototypes rather than having substituted parts. Make the prototypes as closer as possible to actual outputs.
The changing business environment- highly competitive "global" product markets, an increasingly rapid advancements in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and increasing capital intensity of production.
Why go to stores and spend lots of money buying toys, jewelry, cups and many other plastic utilities when you can only press one button and print them out for yourself. This futuristic idea is not only innovating the scientific and technological world, but it is also innovating modern day households. The possibilities of 3D printing are extremely captivating, making this one of the most exciting innovations in recent times. 3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing, makes three-dimensional solid objects from a digital model or command. To picture how this process works, 3D printers use an additive process, where adding layers of a successive material creates an object. Traditional machines, however, uses a subtractive process by cutting or removing a specific material to shape the desired object. This mean of production can be known as a “democratization” of manufacturing since it promises a huge potential for creativity to let loose, offering a realistic possibility for everyone to produce almost any type of object. With over one-hundred different materials a 3D printer can print in, the possibilities of this new type of technology are marveling. For this reason, this new technological revolution demonstrates great potential because we will be able to use it as a household level of production, it will foster economic growth and it will be of great interest to the public.
With the rise of the economy, consumers have become more and more knowledgeable on selecting their favourable product as a result the organization cannot focus on what it sells but on the side focus on what the customer wants to buy.
• The clients getting to be progressively requesting. Today's clients are requesting speedier satisfaction, better quality, and better performing products at the same cost that they are paying today.
The organization, renamed Signode Industrial Group, employs 7,000 people, is comprised of 88 manufacturing facilities located throughout six continents, and is focused on manufacturing and providing products that package, secure, and protect goods during manufacturing, shipping and warehousing (The Carlyle Group, 2014). Although an emphasis is placed on growing margins, generating new revenue is paramount. Under the new management team, sales improvement is a key initiative (Signode Industrial Group, 2014). The change in philosophy has enabled AIA to be more aggressive in pricing and in confronting and combating
In manufacturing process there are different steps and jobs needs to be done in specific ways and time such as sourcing the parts we need in the production, make the items, and shipping it for the customers.